Why should a church set aside special time for spiritual renewal?
Certainly the content associated with “revival teaching” can be delivered in a sermon series, or as part of a small group or class curriculum. So, with all the other calendar events vying for attention, why does Life Action ask churches to set aside days at a time for revival focus?
Well, I can vouch for the fact that concentrated times of seeking God have made a difference for me, whether at special camps, conferences, mission trips, or prayer events I’ve attended. It’s hard to describe the impact equation unless you’ve engaged in those things yourself. You probably have your own stories of places God met with you in a special way.
I think the call to “set aside” begins, not with a calendar, but with an attitude—a heart of humility. It’s when we say, “Lord, we need You. We have our usual patterns, yes; but on occasion we want to break out of those routines and ask You to interrupt us, to redirect us, or at the very least, to renew us for the next phase of our journey!”
We Seek God by Setting Aside Self
The first step in anyone’s relationship with God is always humility. Think of it: Pride is what keeps people doing what they’ve always done. Pride is what closes eyes and hardens hearts. Pride is what stifles prayer or hinders honesty. Proud people don’t repent. They don’t seek God, they can’t honestly love, and as a result, they don’t experience true life.
Life Action’s commitment to call people to revived life in Christ always starts, then, not with a formula for life-change, but with an honest assessment. “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23). Then, on the basis of the Holy Spirit’s conviction, we can move from “our will” to “God’s will.”
Shining a light along this pathway toward spiritual renewal really just means shining a light on the Scriptures themselves, which everywhere testify to the greatness and holiness of God, set next to the great need of every human being for His intervention. The sooner we humble ourselves, the sooner we can move on to the life that is really life!
So that’s where the Life Action message begins. Once a heart has been broken before the Lord, the biblical steps to transformation become clear. Jesus calls us to actively respond, not passively believe. So we challenge people, very directly, to get honest, to repent, to forgive, to obey, and to rearrange their priorities around God’s kingdom.
We challenge people to revival so they can be refreshed in their first-love relationship with God, restored to right relationships with people around them, and then redirected toward what matters most in life—obedience to Christ, and the fulfillment of the Great Commission!
We Seek God by Setting Aside Time
In our busy, distracted, over-spent, worried, hurrying world, when is the moment where fervent prayer really occurs? Or open honesty among the church family? Or even just family conversation that is spiritual in nature?
The rarity of the above is why Life Action aims to create contexts where people can seek and obey God. That’s why, when we send our speakers or teams into churches across North America, we boldly ask for real, concentrated, undistracted attention—sometimes for four days, eight days, or even fifteen days in row. Why? So that repentance, seeking God’s face, and recharging for the mission ahead can take center stage in people’s lives.
Life Action is here to help your church set aside a special time like that. And whether you invite us to be a part of your story or not, I do want to ask: When on your church calendar could you push “pause”? When could you call together everyone—young and old, staff and laymen, teens and senior citizens—to seek God as a church family?
If your church is anything like mine (and like thousands of others Life Action has visited over the years), a time like that could be a welcome change from business-as-usual. You may not be quite sure if your people would really come out for an event like this, but you’d love it if they did. It could be a time for reset, for refreshing, and for a fresh orientation to the Holy Spirit’s power.
From experience many times over, let me reassure you, people will come—particularly if there has been great preparation and great prayer long in advance. Our church events team can help you through the whole process of getting ready.
I have two recommendations for you:
- If you are in a smaller or mid-sized congregation, contact Life Action about hosting a Revive Conference for your people. Over four days (Sunday through Wednesday), one of our revivalists will introduce your church to core revival principles like honesty, repentance, forgiveness, and surrender.
- If your church happens to be larger in size, and if one of our event teams is available in your area, I’d encourage you to schedule a Life Action 8-day or 15-day Revival Summit to walk through the core principles of revival, along with additional sessions aimed at strengthening families.
More information is available, of course, at LifeAction.org.